The interior of the new Lime Grill is so warm, comfortable and even romantic, that most patrons will enjoy the feeling of escape from the bustle of Broughton Street.

And they’ll enjoy the food too, if my first trip was any indication.

Lime Grill opened recently at 125 E. Broughton St. in the location most recently occupied by Seasons Asian Bistro. If you’ve been around Savannah for a while, you might still think of it as the old home of City Lights Theatre.

The eclectic menu is described on the restaurant’s Facebook page as a mix of American, Asian fusion and French styles.

The lightly breaded calamari appetizer with a sweet chili sauce ($8.95) was even better than I hoped, and my entrée of pecan roasted chicken in a blackberry sauce with vegetables and mashed potatoes ($14.95) was excellent too.

The portions were generous without being overwhelming, and the price felt just right. More often than I care to remember, I’ve paid twice as much in Savannah for entrees that weren’t as good.

Both dishes were beautifully presented too.

Lime Grill has a number of entrees for less than $20 — like a BBQ half chicken and baked rainbow trout — that might tempt me when I return. There are also a handful of slightly more expensive fish and beef options.

But we had one problem. There weren’t any items on the menu that appealed to my dinner companion — a vegetarian.

The server and the chef handled the issue pleasantly and professionally. With seeming effortlessness, the kitchen whipped up an appetizer of tempeh over sliced cucumber and an entrée of spicy fettuccine with tofu.

There was no indication, by the way, that any of the employees had any idea that I was a local columnist.

I obviously can’t guarantee that Lime Grill will always be so accommodating in meeting diners’ needs, but the kitchen’s flexibility and creativity made an excellent first impression on me.

It looks like another couple of weeks before Lime Grill’s alcohol license is in place. In the meantime, I wholeheartedly recommend both the Thai iced coffee and Thai iced tea.

Lime Grill serves dinner from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and until 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Lunch is served from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. every day but Sunday.

Other changes to the Broughton scene

As I’ve noted before, we’re in the midst of a small but welcome surge in activity in the Broughton Street corridor, including a number of spots offering food and drinks.

Maxwell’s opened recently at 109 Jefferson St. just south of Broughton in the former Sugar Daddy’s space. I hope to get in there soon to sample the small plates menu.

The restaurant Temperance is moving ahead rapidly with renovations at 220 W. Broughton St.

World of Beer will be opening soon at 112 W. Broughton St., although not in time for St. Patrick’s Day.

And, at the northeast corner of Jefferson and Broughton streets, McDonald’s is opening.

There has been some public debate about McDonald’s whenever the Broughton Street location has been in the news, and I’m sure we’ll hear some of those arguments again.

There was occasional class snobbery in some of the objections to the presence of McDonald’s downtown.

And there continues to be a reasonable fear that we’ll eventually see a domino effect of chains displacing locally owned stores.

But I’ve been writing about Broughton Street’s evolution for over a decade, and there simply isn’t compelling evidence of that danger.

Many of the storefronts are simply too narrow to accommodate major chains, and plenty of locally owned establishments have proven able to compete with the bigger names.

And there’s a good argument to be made that chain stores attract more attention to a retail area, which can help boost the fortunes of everyone.

The new McDonald’s is also a critical addition to the streetscape because of its location.

Jefferson Street should be one of the most important connections between City Market and Broughton Street, but the presence of a blighted building on that key corner has discouraged foot traffic for many years.

No matter what business it holds, a newly renovated building at the corner of Jefferson and Broughton streets will boost pedestrian connectivity.

It will also be a symbol of economic versatility and vitality, rather than a reminder of Broughton’s history of blight.

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Well, it appears that for those of us who work downtown and cannot afford to eat lunch at "upscale eateries" every day but enjoy eating out and patroning our local businesses. . . we're in trouble if nothing is allowed to be put on Broughton Street besides "upscale eateries". As someone who was born and raised in Savannah, I've noticed the only thing that gets in the way of local businesses being successful is terrible customer service and food. Those who do well providing those things at a reasonable price succeed. A successful scenario is Broughton Street providing a little something for everyone. Savannah is an ecclectic city and that is part of what makes it so special.